In this segment, to give an
impression and give meaning about birds that could
be easily sighted, I have started with birds that we
could see everyday and every where, included insides
are pages like:-

Like many new comers that have started the hobby
of watching birds and so are the first time visitors to this country,
they all are not conversant with the birds life in Malaysia.
Where to start?

I
found a starting point, the back yard!

An understanding about local birds and the style
of bird watching without even having
to leave the house

Having gone through the bird list on garden
birds and perhaps acquainted with the birds that you are bound to
meet up with. You are at the start, familiar with the common birds
of Malaysia. You can start your birding. Wherever you are going to
on the lowlands especially, you are bound to see these same birds
again and again.

Hoping you have mastered enough skills to weed the trees away
from the forest. Give you better chances to direct your attention to
"new" birds.

With a few nearby Forest
Recreation Parks, it is easy to accumulate a bird List of more than
150 birds. That's how good this land is. By then being hooked into
Bird Watching, I am sure you will find excuse to travel. Seek out
isolate forest sanctuaries to look for quality birds. That will be
the time that the Birds Lists I posted for the many popular birding
spots plus pictures of the area becoming of value. Your need for
this birding pages will be diminishing.

Now I move on
to another topic that relates to another activity which also involve searching for birds.
This is about those doing bird photography. With advancement in
technology and buyers affordability, a new followings of
self-proclaimed bird photographers started roaming the country sides
an forest edge..

Recently, many birders in Malaysia have taken a
hard look at this hobby called "Bird Watching" or "Birding".
What's bugging these birders? All of a sudden, the internet was
filled with beautiful
pictures of "hard-to-spot" birds and with the situation
unchanged among the
traditional birders, they were to continued venturing into the
jungle hoping for a glimpse of these rarely sighted birds.

The Photographers moving in groups were better
organized. There were more of them out there seeking, increasing
their chances through higher frequencies of being there in the
jungle and greater numbers of spotters in different places. Then the
information exchanged swiftly through their own forum, ending with
them staying better informed through their networks. They used
callers to bring the birds out to the open. Birders went into the
field alone or in pairs. Being a long term hobby are only out there
on weekends.

Lucky for birders, those photographers are out there
in the field for a limited time only. After getting those
colorful birds
they desired, they will leave the field and the birds alone. After a
couple of years of harassing the birds, I see much less of the
photographers now. Hopefully the distasteful acts that they
brought upon the birds would take time for the birds to forget and
returning to normal, if the birds are still coming back to their
usual haunts. vanish.

Beside the momentary set back brought about the
photographers, there is a more pressing issue
that is bringing about the diminishing bird life in the area. This concern is also man-made. With
rapid urbanization and the opening up of more spots for
housing and tourism, many original forested edges are are no longer
conducive as before. The jungles edges in forest areas and resorts
were retracted inwards, tidied up and cleared of over hang. Insects
coming to these edges for food stayed away. Birds move on to better
locations which are now remote spots.
The hot spots of easy access which were Mecca for birding had all deteriorated
to almost "zero". An overall trend, bird
life every birding spots that we went to, is falling each year.

back 1998, I started watching birds in a serious
manner. Using
the birds nearer to my house, as tutorial.
First learning how to differentiate the markings between them. Took
me a while until I could recognize them
instantly. On rare
occasions, I would
venture
out to meet up with the more experienced hobbyists to see something
"not so common". With very limited knowledge,
we prodded on. Then graduated into spending most of our time in the field.
With each
new encounter, we were getting to
know the familiar birds better. Looking back, those were much better
times, birds were readily available and each trip
reassured of some progress.

Today with less and more people looking for birds,
a new controversy kept cropping up. First there those "Twitcher"
chasing after numbers. Now the second lot chasing after quality
pictures.

When asked? These new breed of cameras lugging
personals would claim themselves as
"Birders". Not prepared to declare themselves as "Nature
Photographers" yet.The controversies went on for a few years, I look into
myself with that sensitive question as I am too was carrying a
camera a small one though.

How
much of a birder am I? I think in today's standard, unlike
yesteryears, taking pictures of birds is very easy. What is wrong
with the logical development! Watching and
recording. No crime about that as long as our action do not infringe
the lifestyle of our subjects. This is a downstream activity which
enhance our love of chasing birds. maintain a good record of what we
saw!

One more idea. I could to tap into those occasions
where I encounter some unusual happenings, with birds involved. Write on topics featuring
birds as theme. Document my observations and feelings then. Now I truly do record my experiences with birds rather than just
doing plain talking.

Seeing a clearer direction about birding now, I was
surprised that with a sudden switch in concept, immediately I see that there are
so much I do not know about birding. Leave the posting in forums and mailing list
alone, I could start my own contributions. As "What I can see". It can start with
equipments, the way birding is done. Then it goes on with birds'
life and lastly about how the public is treating birds.

OK -that is the concept behind the setting up of
my own web site. A task that is never ending and very satisfying as I can
trace the progress. Lastly, those visiting my pages with broken
links and half written information - please bear by me.